[ technical difficulties ]fá so the whole political landscape here has been thrownxd into uprr by this. and in fact a lotr this morning aboutñi exactly what's gei and some leading socialist are

calling for that3w primary to h >> that does sound like a remarkable turn of events.q could somebody who'sñ still on triali] here reallyñi stand for presidep4÷ of a g-7r he's still on trial what happensxd this afternoon? 7w3 don't know how weak the prosecutor's case has become. if it is soñi w cannot be brought in any of the ways that have been suggested by the original charge ofxd the prosecution, then it's possible he could come back and appear as a martyr in frenchñiñ french okpolitics. after street interviews people werelp saying he's writtenfjdof. it's not possible for him toñiç come backw3 and alli] theq rest. yet his supporterslp within the socialist party havet( been giv new life and have comexd alivc this morning saying absolutely you can comeñiok back, andw3 th reconsidering what they'rejf gog to dolp fromfáe1 here on.

>> jim bittermann, thank you for theçó insightlp from paris. on thursday greece voted in5 keep the imf and policymakers happy. after a few days oflpñi substank gains, european investors itxd seems appear t)@ on this friday fásession. most of the markets broadly opening flat. here's where they stands --t(jf1 a major impasse seems to have been to a certain extent resolved. in the asia pac.íujt)jz stock gñ headedfá higher in tra% on the back of wall street gains

and the second greek austerity vote. data still revealed a slump in chinese manufacturing. and that, in turn, pushed the shn>!% composites down. this isc()! day, as you can see. it ended down by north ok.1%, heavier losses from theok marke in australia. we have the seoul kospi, a market that rose up by 1.2%. in the meantime>/s wall street, investigators were feeling bullish as they rounded out the first v!jtc year of trading. strong manufacturing data and fading fears about the greek debt crisis dide1 manage to hel producee1 hefty gains, between and 1.25% int( the majorr the dow industrial average up the mos+gñ that 6a+. lp in the meantime news that could have bearing on the course of the u.s. recovery.r a cnn source says that the u.s. treasury secretary, timothy

geithner, may ber quitting, but notr out the debtrt debacle in washington. right now lawmakers are currently atr raising ey should be the u.s. can t legally borrow. unless they agree to do so soon, the countrye1 could be defaulti on itszv debt. according to the source geithner won't make the decision until things are wrapped up. as for thursday he said he would be doing his job for the foreseeable future in response to the question of what would be coming next for his t(career. in an unconventional election with a politician whoe ñ we focus on thailand. the they're going to the polls this weekend, and there's a lonk shadow over the proceedings.ok the country's restless redt( sht á sitting leader, head of the democratic party there.xsmjdtq)

sisteroo: as "his clone," and ti shared ideology -- it may cause more unl%(n#nd what will it mean for the economy. the results of the election has beset by revolt the a economyn last seven yearji or so. we'reñi joined from bangkokxd t discuss the implications of what mightñi happen in thailand. good to seew3 you,ñr sara. as+ thet( former leader was ou in 2006, he's not eviñ standing -- >> reporter: he's been in exile the last couple of years. he is certainly still a player at least in people's minds. so we talked to the candidates, the two prime candidates about him. we also want to note that the 2010 unrest that happened here

was certyi71e a big factor and is a bigxdok factor in whatokxd do at the polls.xd it really knocked thailand's economy, and both sides are blaming each other for it. [ crowd noise ] >> reporter: this is the last push before voters go to the push before voters go to the polls in thailand. >> reporter:xd the pace for tha politicians is frantic. the people along the campaign trail arexd excited. [ cheers ] >> reporter: a virtual newcomer to politics is garnering loads of attention as she tries to okm minister. the youngest sister of the former polarizing prime minister and billionaire who was ousted in a 2006e1 military8g÷ coup an lives in exile as abuse of power charge await him at home. charges whichxd he denies. he has what you might call rock star status, especially here in the north. good looks and charisma. whent( you ask many people why

they willxd vote for her, they y it's because they like her brother. hisokc supporters, known as thed shirt, almost worship him. critics worry she's simply his puppet. yourt( brother has said you're ó clone. how much like your brothere1 ark you? >> cloningxd means the logicalw thinking and management style because i have learned sin job.t him.ned style from on t(him.( mean >> reporter: you're saying you're a clone but not a pup. ♪ >> yes, nott( a t(puppet. >> reporter:i] some think her brother's fingerprints are all y >> hexd has a network and exert certainq influence. the difference is that is being exerted for his own interest at the cost of the country. we want to move the country beyond that. >> yunñrrúbu5jz says she's not g

to give him special consideration if shec wins. do you believe that? >> that's a way of cloaking the fact that she will tryx#ñ to gr a morexd blanket amnesty so tha he can ge4!phis. >> reporter: the current government says it was her brother fueling the flames behind the 2010 political protest that turned bangkok's zone for months.ict intoxd a wa a situation that hurt the thai economy and left dozens of itsr dea. supporters blame the militarylp who they say stands firmly with the government because he was appointed to the position two years after the military coup. this is thailand's fourth election in seven years. an exhausting tale of the bumpy path to democracy this country has endured with a still-uncertain ending.çóçó3wq thisnb 9qeñ it is shinawa the polls favoring, but in the last few dayse1 the momentum for the

party, has gone forward and are hoping took win. the polls begin to open on july !swe should know at least part the decision at theokçó end of night then.lpçó >> okay.ñrq sara, many thanks. according to theñi cia worl fact book, thailand's economyq grew by 7.8%e1 in 2010 after falling 2.3% during 2009. that was in the midstñi of the global receqárjjy the country has one ofc+ñ lowest unemployment rates in the world, 1.q %. and less than 10% of thailand's population lives below the poverty line. that's not to see that the average thai citizen is bay any means well off. the average annual gdp per person in this country stands at just $8,700. putting thailand iuá the bottomr 40% of the world economies. that goes a long way to explaining thej. kind of unrest that sara was talking about and the unreste1 that has beset

the country for seven years now. we're used to seeing themjfn the basketball court but the ñiç so farw3 neither side has declad victory. we'll look at what that means we'll look at what that means for fansxc.5%9 medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance.

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[ technical difficulties ] google admits that during its mapping of its streetview project it also accidently collected 600 gig bit on of data from unencrypted wi-fi networks across more than 30 countries. and the world's biggest social network will launch a new feature. mark zuckerberg will only say

it's something awesome. stay tuned to find out what it is. if you got used it buying books or music through your iphone and ipad, you may be in for a nasty surprise. there's a behind-the-scenes battle brewing between the company that have produced apps for apple devices and apple itself. apple set a deadline for them to comply with new payment structures or risk their products disappearing from the app universe in the future. >> reporter: back in february, apple said they were going to try and route all purchases and apps through apple's purchasing snm which apple would take 30%

off the top. >> everything has to happen inside the apple store. you can't -- if we pull up kindle, what are we talking about? these are the book you would see, this is the issue that apple has? shop at the kindle store. >> that's right. when you press this button on your ipad it boots you to the web app, and you can buy a book through amazon.com, that would cut apple out of the revenue stream which they don't want. >> apple is saying get out or you'll be out of the app world. so far no change on the kindle site if you're on, but it may not be the case. we haven't heard anything, right? >> that's right. experts are saying maybe this wasn't a hard and fast deadline, but it's something we'll be looking at in the next weeks. >> some sites have changed a little bit. hulu, available in the u.s. but is basically something you can download your favorite shows or episodes on, what's happening when we go there? >> that's right. it's a straight log-in screen. what it used to have before last week was not a subscriber, click here to access huely plus and

huely.com/plus. now they've removed that to stay in compliance. >> you have to be a subscriber and it has to happen in the app store. some companies have taken preemptive action. how is it working? it's a web app? >> that's right. via html 5. this allows companies to design only for the web. you can download the app through the web, no problem -- >> you don't have to go to an app store. whether it's apple, android, or something. >> it cuts out of the middleman basically. you're not giving 30% off the top to apple. whether it's google or nokia, windows mobile -- >> you don't have to make different tailored -- you can just do it. in apple's case they cut out the middleman. they don't have make different versions for android. this would seem like something a lot of companies would want to do. does this mean we'll see a mass defection away from the app world, from app stores? >> i think you could see that with names like f.t..com -- with

fd.com. but smaller developers aren't big enough to do their own thing. for those smaller developers who no one's heard of, it's going to be tougher for them to defect to the web, do their own thing and hope people find them just by searching. >> that was maggie lake. despite the hype and fanfare, for apple it hasn't been an easy six month. the stock fell by 3.5% in june, the worst first half performance since the financial crisis erupted in 2008. apple's great at breathing new life into its existing stable of products, but it seems as though investors are hankering after something else, new gadgets from the company. they're also worried about competition from the like of google. next on the show, europe and south korea are locked in a tighter embrace as a new trade deal promises change in opportunity. for consumers and companies alike. details ahead.

in from -- from cnn london, welcome back. a twist in the case of dominique strauss-kahn is expected to play out in a courtroom seven hours from now. a source close to the case tells cnn that prosecutors and defense lawyers will ask for a sharp reduction in bail. the source says that's because investigators believe the hotel maid who accuses strauss-kahn of sexual assault has significant credibility problems. legal analysts say they're stunned by the shift in the strauss-kahn case.

they point to the prosecutor's early declarations about the maid's story and the physical evidence that no longer seem to be enough. here's cnn's senior legal analyst, jeffrey tubin. >> reporter: this case was brought with such great fanfare by the manhattan district attorney and they loudly trumpeted the credibility of the accuser here, and the credibility appears -- and i hav hasten to say has collapsed. the evidence shows dna evidence of a sexual encounter between dominique strauss-kahn and the woman who's the maid. yet even with dna evidence, the prosecution is considering dropping the case. >> one of the things that dominique strauss-kahn has left as a hallmark of his legacy is the imf's bailout of greece. the u.s. markets responded positively to thursday's greek austerity vote in seoul and

tokyo which followed wall street higher. elsewhere, investors showing caution after the two days of bullish behavior. 19 minutes into the trading day, there's been a sluggish start across the european continent. a number of markets in the red, as you see. we've got the dax and the acc 40 down -- cac 40 down, but the others recovering after early losses. a slightly sunnier picture in asia was dampened only by poor manufacturing data out of china. driving the composite down. when you move south to australia, commodities and financial shares took a hit pushing the asx into negative territory. the nikkei ending the day up to the tune of .5%. stronger gain for the kospi in seoul. despite the current optimism, gloom is still hanging over japan's business community. the bank of japan's quarterly survey as business sentiment shows the march 11 earthquake

and subsequent tsunami rocked confidence among japanese manufactures. but our anchor tells us now the future looks rather brighter than that. >> reporter: the latest quarterly reading on the business confidence of japan reveals two clear trends. the first is the reaction to the devastating earthquake and tsunami in march and the aftermath of broken supply chains and power shoertages. april to june, business optimism imploded. not since the dark days of the global financial crisis have business leaders felt so negative. it was the first time in five quarters that had happened, and it reflected the full extent of the disruption caused by the disasters. it's not all bad news. the second trend shows that japan inc. sees a brighter future head. the survey expect to see positive two in september as companies put the effects of the march disaster behind them.

perhaps even more promising, the tankan shows japanese companies boosting capital spending. investment in machinery by 4.3% the current year. it may not be reflecting anything like boom conditions ahead, but japan's business leadership is at least now seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. andrew stevens, cnn, hong kong. on wall street on thursday, the bulls were firmly back in charge as concerns about the greek debt crisis faded. investors also hailed strength in the manufacturing sector, but the close of trade -- by the close of trade, the dow industrial average had chalked up about .3 of a triple digit gain and thursday saw gains of between 1% and 1.25%, the three bourses, dow industrial average, as i was saying before, up by the most. thursday marked end of the month, end of the second dwaur and end of the -- quarter and end of the first half of the year. they're eager to put a turbulent six months behind them now.

despite the topsy-turvy trade that we've seen, the dow jones for its part, has taxed more than 7% so far this year. yesterday we'll tell you that the s&p 500 is up about 4% so far this year, as well. if you compare the dow industrial average's gain over that period of time to some of the major other indices and region by region, the united states is still head and shoulders above the rest. despite uncertainty in places like europe, london's ftse 100 managed to put on .78% the first half of the year. asia has been hampered by concerns about the sustainability of china's red-hot growth rate and also what that means for the major trading partners in the region. we'll look ahead to the start of trading in wall street later on today. for the futures market, it seems as though they're showing a mixed picture at the moment. that perhaps reflects the state of the markets around the world, as we were saying. in europe we've got two up, two down, as you can see. we've got currently the s&p 500 poised to open in negative

trading whether it starts trading later on today. starting today a free trade agreement between south korea and the european union will begin to eliminate almost all tariffs between the trading partners. the move is expected to generate tens of billions of dollars of new business and could see american company lose market share in south korea as the u.s. lags behind in striking its own free trade deal then. cnn's paula hancocks is live with what this means for consumers and the economy over there. hi, paula. one thing i was really interested to find out, when doing research on this, is that the e.u. is south korea's second biggest trading partner after china. this deal could be really important for it, couldn't it? >> reporter: absolutely. this deal here in south korea is being hailed as the best deal, the biggest deal that's ever been done, and politicians and economists alike want this to be the model if you like for any

future free trade agreement. there are a few with other countries in the pipeline. it is being hailed as a success here. now the deal is expected to reduce tariffs by 96% on all e.u. imports to korea. and when it comes to korean imports to e.u., that's expected to drop by 99% over the next three years. so it took four years to come about. it was started in 2007. and it does come into effect today. and consumers here in south korea are hoping that they are going to see some of the benefits. wine is the most civilized thing in the world. american author ernest hemmingway once said. this wine club in seoul would agree. but the high cost of an import is a taste for the more affluent. that could change friday when the free trade between korea and the european union goes into effect. a 15% tariff on wine from the e.u. will be lifted.

customers are hoping the entire saving is passed on. >> it's going to be a great news to all the korean wine lovers and maybe it will take away some of the sales from the korean traditional wine. >> reporter: after chile signed an agreement in 2004, sales in korea soared, overtaking france as the number-one seller by volume. politicians on both sides are hailing this deal as the perfect model for any other agreements in the future. korean automakers are set to benefit. the e.u.'s tariffs on imported autos range from 10% to 22%. korea's institute for international economic policy estimates the country's gdp will increase by up to 5.6% over the next ten years, and more than 250,000 jobs will be created. exports most notably for auto and electronic goods are expected to jump by $2.5 billion

a year. korean farmers will suffer according to the same report. with an average loss for the sector of $31 million. a protest wednesday reminded politicians that not everyone appreciate these deals. farmers want the u.s.-korean fta to be scrapped for cherry that cheaper imports will jeopardize their -- for fear that cheaper imports will jeopardize their business. >> i am concerned about the -- the disadvantage that american businesses will be at if -- if there is a korea e.u. free trade agreement, and we are too slow in ratifying and implementing the korea-u.s. free trade agreement. >> reporter: so as of today, companies here will have better access to about around 500

million consumers. and that's one of the biggest markets in the world. and also bear in minds, this is the first free trade agreement that the european union has done with any asian country. certainly gives south korea the competitive edge. nina? >> well, the other thing is is that, you know, we've had the united states being very concerned it china's dominance in this kind of region. it was interesting to note the u.s. ambassador's comments there. do you think that they'll have to do something when they sort out the situation in the u.s., vis-a-vis the political football of the debt ceiling? they're going to have to focus on re-establishing trade ties with asia. >> reporter: well, the u.s.-korean free trade agreement has been on the cards for some time. remember when the u.s. president obama was here just last year, he met with the president of south korea, and they did try and push the deal forward. at this point it hasn't been ratified on either side of the

pacific. hasn't actually been agreed upon by either parliament. so at this point, the ambassador of many businesses here in korea want that pushed forward quickly. >> okay. paula hancocks, thank you very much for joining us there from south korea. and before we go we want to recap our top story. dominique strauss-kahn will be heading back to a new york courtroom in just a few hour from now. a source close to the case tells cnn that investigators now believe that the hotel maid who's accusing the former imf chief of sexual assault has "some serious credibility problems." the source says the defense lawyers will ask the judge to sharply reduce dominique strauss-kahn's bail as a result and that prosecutors will not object to that. and don't forget that you can get in touch with the whole of the world business today on facebook go. to facebook.com/cnnwbt. that's it for this edition of "world business today."

"marketpla "marketpla "marketplace" is next.

this week on "marketplace middle east," change as the imf gets a new head. what does it mean for the region? plus, as tempers flare again in cairo six months into the arab spring, what lessons can be learned from iraq? we speak to the minister of state. and the middle east a budget. a trend in web sites that is taking over the region and garnering attention in the united states.

the imf made history naming christine lagarde to the post. there will be a transition next week. lagarde has her work cut out for him. besides tackling the european debt crisis the fund will have to address the ongoing fallout from the arab spring. tensions in egypt heated up again as police clashed with demonstrators in tahrir square that left hundreds injured. the protest was organized by relatives of those killed during the revolution back in january. egypt and tunisia will be in 401(k) in the coming months. -- in focus in the coming months. >> reporter: at the top of the imf, among many tasks for the chief is to keep an eye on the changing economic landscape in the middle east, particularly egypt and tunisia. the economies of the two north african countries have been struggling since their respective revolutions.

earlier this year the imf issued growth projections for them, and they were sharply lower than previous estimates. egypt's growth rate is expected to fall to just 1% in 2011 from a robust 5.1% last year. tunisia's forecast to grow at just 1.3%. now tunisia hasn't requested financial aid from the imf swivel, but it has called on the wider international community for help to turn around its economy. the country's interim prime minister says tunisia needs about $25 billion over the next five years to get back up on its feet. just last month, egyptian authorities agreed in principle to a $3 billion loan from the imf. they've now decided against that, at least in the short term. egypt decided instead to revive its budget and bring down its fiscal deficit from 11% to 8.3% of gdp. that, in turn, would reduce its

need for extra international financing. still, that's a tall order. business is almost at a standstill in both countries as the region reels from ongoing instability. reporting for "marketplace middle east," abu dahbi. iraq is trying to rebuild its economy after sanctions and war. now as the rest of the region reels from the effects of the arab spring, i spoke to the minister of state and government spokesman and asked what lessons the arab world could learn from iraq's experience. we've been changed. whatever now we see is good. i think it's imposing a new parameter on a politician, on the parties that you have to -- you have to work good. i think it's a parameter which makes the people there -- not

just coming each four years at time of election. >> this is a promising market by size and scale because of the natural resources that you're blessed with. when you go out to russia or you go out to europe looking for investment into asia, how do they see the risk/reward factors now because of the lack of security? >> we say iraq is not a problem anymore. iraq is opportunity. and iraq is giving such opportunity i think is the prime market in the region. i do agree there's a difficulty to security challenges there. not only difficulty -- i think iraq in the future in the region because iraq is fully constructed, and got good credibility, good money, got a good relative of oil and gas. -- good reserve of oil and gas. and he can pay, he can afford to finance all the infrastructure. >> reporter: you raise the issue of the gayle and gas sector -- of the oil and gas sector. big asspirations going from 1.5

targeted to 2.5 million barrels a day by 2016. that seems realistic but getting to eight by 20 or 2025 is going to be a struggle? >> i think the there's market -- i think there's market limitation. we can't get there, no. we have to get our fair share, we don't want to break the quota of opec, we don't want to be a member, but iraq is a play. >> if you hit the targets by 2020, even 2025, it completely changes the dynamics of the region in terms of power and be the counterbalance with saudi arabia, does it not? >> i think it -- nobody could continue to enjoy to be a main player essentially. i think a new emerging power is coming, iraq is one of them. and the economy of iraq is going

to be powerful, not powerful in the way of saddam being powerful, no. powerful in this economic potential. >> once again the minister of state of iraq. iraq's economic potential is being stunted by corruption right now. iraqi authorities have been quoted in media reports recently as saying corruption cost the economy nearly $1 billion last year alone. now the government is stepping up efforts to stem the problem. we have more from baghdad on the behind-the-scenes look at the effort to root out corruption. >> reporter: an undercover operation caught on camera. following a tip and recorded phone conversations, a task force from iraq's anti-corruption body sets up a sting. capturing a senior iraqi officer accused of taking a $9,000 bribe to forge documents and facilitate paperwork. corruption is nothing new to iraq. it is one of the world's most corrupt countries. >> it's endemic, and it's from

the top down. and you can see it in many forms. there is no effective oversight because even the people who are charged with oversight can be bribed. >> reporter: over recent years the iraqi government has said it is working hard to fight the widespread corruption. a battle it compared to that against terrorism. iraqis frustrated with the many problems they face like the lack of basic services, has taken to the streets in february in protests that have also called for an end to corruption. increasing the pressure on officials to deliver. the government says it is making progress and that it has stepped up its anti-corruption campaign with newsroom announcement of corruption charges against state employees. in one of the recent most high-profile cases, the prime minister ordered an investigation into one of the country's top financial institutions. the trade bank of iraq having alleged financial irregularities

that's cost millions. an arrest warrant was issued for the head of the bank who has fled the country. in a statement to the media by a public relations firm on his behalf, he denied these allegations, saying they fabricated for no other reason than to further the political and financial ambitions of others. despite such major investigations, the government acknowledges it still has a long fight ahead. for a country still struggling for stability and desperately in need of foreign investment as it tries to rebuild, further instability is something iraq cannot afford. reporting for "marketplace middle east," baghdad. coming up, cashing in on low-cost living. how regional web sites are banking on budget buy force make a profit.

behind the wealth and glamor of the gulf, web sites offering discounts on products ranging from spa treatment hotel stays

are taking off. so much so that livingsocial has offered to buy one in a multimillion dollar deal to break into the growing market. we have more on the low-cost living trend sweeping through the region. >> reporter: from her home in you do bay, erica shaw logs on to gonabit.com, one of the newest web sites in the gulf region. >> first thing i check and see if i have emails or texts from the night before to see what the deal of the day is. >> reporter: the mother of three, an american, is one of many in the region taking advantage of online group buying that's all the rage. >> it's not such a way of saving money but also introducing you to a lot of the new facility that are offered here in dubai. >> reporter: group buying is a recently developed shopping strategy originating in china. several people connect over the internet. the group then agrees to purchase an item or a service and benefit by paying less.

the business benefit by selling multiple items at once. similar group buying sites have popped up in europe and america. even though the web sites have been up and running for a few years, here in the middle east it's a fairly new phenomenon. >> web sites like groupon, gonabit have been growing due to the advent of economic crisis primarily as people go on line to look for deals, basically. however, i wouldn't say it's a developed phenomenon yet. >> reporter: the pioneer in the region is gonabit, launched in may, 2010. the company says it has a 40% market share. its reason for starting the web site was simple -- >> people are always looking to do more without necessarily spending any more. we don't ship a physical product. you buy a voucher and receive it by e-mail. we don't need to know where you live. we don't need to know your p.o. box. you don't need to be home. we don't need to ship across borders and customs duties and thing like this. >> reporter: and there are others.

a play on the pronounceation of coupon was launched in 2011. >> we feature spas and restaurants across the middle east. so far we've launched in saudi arabia and egypt. >> reporter: since it launched its first online portal in dubai, customer traffic has grown and the company has seen days with sales exceeding 350,000 u.s. dollars. but can a region known for its flash and cash filled with gleaming buildings and gold dipping on just about everything make the switch from bling to bargains and couture to coupons? >> it doesn't matter who you are, where you live, everyone likes a discount. >> reporter: especially in a land where bargaining and bartering are centuries' old traditions. marketplace middle east in dubai. >> that's it for this edition of "cnn marketplace middle east." thanks for watching. we'll see you next week.